El Paso City Council may amend solicitation ordinance

A homeless man sat on the sidewalk at Paisano and Oregon Monday near a pair of parking meters. The El Paso City Council is trying to pass an "Agressive Solicitation" ordinance which in the first draft of the bill would prohibit panhandling next to parking meters. Mark Lambie/El Paso Times

A solicitation ordinance approved by the City Council last fall may be amended to more clearly define "aggressive solicitation" and eliminate "parking meters" from the areas where people are prohibited from soliciting.

The amended ordinance is being introduced at the council meeting today, though no action is expected until the Feb. 5 council meeting when the public can give its input on the matter.

Deputy City Manager David Almonte said the ordinance was created to ensure the safety of solicitors such as those who take to the streets to fund raise for their sports teams, as well as to protect patrons at businesses where they're often approached for donations.

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"This was never intended to create a zone where we targeted solicitation in any one area or from any group of individuals," Almonte said. "We were looking at addressing safety concerns."

The ordinance was criticized by those who believed it was unfairly targeting the homeless who panhandle Downtown.

As adopted last fall, the ordinance states a person commits an offense if a person solicits in an aggressive manner in a public place or within 15 feet of an ATM, bank entrance, restaurant, parking meters, bus stops, schools and street medians. It also prevents solicitors from touching, following, blocking, insulting or intimidating people in a public place.

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The council approved the ordinance in a 5 to 2 vote in October, with city Reps. Susie Byrd and Emma Acosta voting against it. The two councilors had expressed concerns that it would target homeless people, and that it would be ineffective and costly.

Byrd said Monday she believed the proposed amended ordinance is "a step in the right direction, but I do not think it's enough."

Byrd said she believes the discussion on solicitation has become "a little bit dishonest" and sees it not as an issue of public safety as much as an issue of public comfort. "I don't know that we can or should regulate that because it makes us uncomfortable when somebody approaches us who looks maybe poor or homeless," she said.

Former American Civil Liberties Union activist Carl Starr filed a civil lawsuit against the city and council members following the vote, alleging that the mandate was unconstitutional.

Starr said that the ordinance targeted homeless panhandlers and included a large proportion of Downtown sidewalks that are supposed to have the highest free speech protection under the constitution.

Starr said he was glad to see the "parking meters" reference removed from the ordinance, but wasn't sure if his attorneys would ask for more specific changes or challenge the minimal amendments.

Almonte said city attorneys reviewed the ordinance and agreed to make some modifications, primarily to delete "parking meters" from the language. The new draft, however, still includes within 15 feet of "a parking pay station" on the street, as well as a parking garage or parking lot pay station, as places where people cannot solicit money or services.

The proposed changes redefine aggressive behavior so that somebody at a bus stop, for example, can ask another person for a quarter but cannot harass them about it, Almonte said.

"We're trying to protect the public from the type of solicitation that can endanger them," Almonte added.

The ordinance also prohibits people in vehicles from making donations to or purchasing items from people on public roadways or from a person 12 years old or younger who is on the surrounding sidewalks and medians.

Business owners also will have the option of prohibiting solicitation on their property and may post a sign on their property to that effect.

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